ROKU SELECT EDITION

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Brand owner Beam Suntory

RRP €27.50

Markets Global travel retail

Contact beamsuntory.com

Roku Select Edition is positioned as a premium Japanese craft gin made by Suntory’s distillers and rectifiers, who have been making gin since 1936.

To mark its launch Beam Suntory GTR is running a series of airport activations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, including Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London and Dubai airports. The activation will see branded pop-up bars and installations across five airports, which will showcase the Roku Select Edition bottling with the six Japanese botanicals that have been infused to create the gin.

Select Edition’s flavour profile is said to be achieved by balancing the six Japanese botanicals with eight traditional gin botanicals (juniper berry, coriander seeds, angelica root, angelica seed, cardamom seed, cinnamon, bitter orange peel and lemon peel). The Japanese botanicals – sakura flower, sakura leaf, yuzu peel, sencha tea, gyokuro tea and sansho pepper – are harvested in accordance with ‘shun’, the tradition of enjoying each ingredient at its best by only harvesting once it has reached its peak flavour potential and perfection.

HEINEKEN BLADE AND 0.0% 

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Brand owner Heineken

RRP not available

Markets Global travel retail

Contact heineken@kavanaghcommunications.com

Heineken Global Duty Free unveiled a new countertop draught system, Blade, and the global duty free launch of Heineken 0.0%, at TFWA Cannes.

Following the launch of the Brewlock draught system, Heineken has developed Blade, which is described as a free-standing, compact and versatile countertop draught system with simple plug-and-play installation, minimal cleaning and almost no maintenance.

An illuminated, transparent branded dome houses recyclable PET kegs (8 litres) of ‘brewery-fresh’ draught beer. The beer is kept at a temperature of 2°C, guaranteeing its quality and freshness up to 30 days from the opening of the stem. The smart air compression system does not require any CO2 or other additives.

The system is said to bring a draught beer facility to locations with space challenges.

OPIHR ADVENTURERS’ EDITION LONDON DRY GIN

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Brand owner Quintessential Brands

RRP €35 for 1-litre

Markets Travel retail exclusive from early 2018

Contact Oliver Storrie, global travel retail manager, oliver.storrie@quintessentialbrands.com

The Opihr Adventurers’ Edition design is said to “encapsulate the essence of adventure, discovery and travel, with maritime cues such as a wax-dipped closure and an illustrated map on the back label, evoking the history and heritage of the maritime spice route”.

It is 42.5% abv in reference to the midway latitude of the locations from which the botanicals for Opihr gin are sourced. Master distiller Joanne Moore wanted to offer something new to travellers in the form of a gin with spices from along the maritime spice route.

DIPLOMÁTICO RUM DISTILLERY COLLECTION

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Brand owner Destilarías Unidas

RRP €69, US$79

Markets Global

Contact info@diplomaticorum.com

The company says the Distillery Collection comprises a limited edition featuring two single distilled rums: a Single Batch Kettle rum and a Single Barbet Column rum, both 47% abv.

It is said to showcase Diplomático’s alternative distillation processes, featuring each Venezuelan rum’s personality and offering aficionados the opportunity to discover these single distillates in their purest form.

Nº1 The Batch Kettle rum is made from sugar cane honeys, distilled in a semi-artisanal and discontinuous Canadian batch distillation system and aged in American white oak barrels for six years. Tasting notes: elegant and rich nose, well balanced on the palate with a sweet entry, followed by hints of ripe tropical fruits.

Nº2 The Barbet Column Rum is made from sugar cane molasses, distilled in a continuous French Barbet Column and aged in American white oak barrels for four years. Tasting notes: mango and passion fruit aromas with notes of caramel and oak.

FAR REACHES DRY GIN

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Brand owner Crafted Beverages

RRP £38

Markets Initial UK launch, then global

Contact Co-founder Andrew Whiting: andrew@craftedbeverages.co.uk

Far Reaches claims to be one of only a handful of special spirits to be conceived, distilled and bottled in the British capital – the historical home of gin.

It is said to be a small-batch gin, distilled using 13 botanicals and inspired by global travel. It is described as a twist on the classic London Dry style, with a forward citrus and floral taste profile.

The base of Far Reaches (41.3% abv) is said to be a premium English grain spirit distilled four times before the signature botanicals are infused with the base spirit and hand-distilled for a fifth time in a 500-litre pot still in London. This five-hour final stage yields only 200 litres of the pure spirit.

There follows a minimum 10-day resting period to allow the essential oils to develop fully.

Five key botanicals, each from a different continent, are central to the recipe: kumquat from Asia, juniper from Europe, quandong from Australia, sarsaparilla from the Americas and grains of paradise from Africa.

GIGGLEWATER

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Brand owner House of Gigglewater

RRP Gigglewater Frizzante 75cl £8.99, €10; Gigglewater Vino Bianco Frizzante Secco can 20cl £2.49, €2.70; Gigglewater Prosecco DOC Treviso 75cl £11.99, €13.46

Markets UK, Ibiza, Spain, Canada, Australia and China

Contact Catherine Monahan +44 (0) 75781 67776

Gigglewater is a 1920s term meaning ‘alcoholic beverage’. Creator Catherine Monahan said: “We are targeting millennials and women to offer innovative brands and products that target the changing lifestyles, experiences and needs of people in this group.

“Our motto is Live Your Life in Balance and we give profits back to sustainability and humanitarian projects such a water purification project for Nepal.”

THE DUBLINER MASTER DISTILLER’S RESERVE

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Brand owner The Dublin Liberties Whiskey Company

RRP €35, £30 (70cl), US$45 (75cl)

Markets Worldwide from January

Sizes 70cl, 75cl and 1-litre

Contact info@essential-drinks.com, information@marblehead.uk.com (UK on trade)

The Dubliner Irish Whiskey Master Distiller’s Reserve is a new premium addition to The Dubliner range.

Master distiller Darryl McNally is said to have personally chosen and blended a selection of seven single malt and grain Irish whiskeys aged in bourbon casks for up to 10 years and bottled at 42% abv.

McNally said: “I set out to create a whiskey that showcased the unique characteristics of the individual whiskeys, blending them together in a way that ensured the end product was still true to the style of The Dubliner range.”

HIGHLAND PARK DRAGON LEGEND

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Brand owner Edrington

RRP £40 (70cl)

Markets UK

Contact Alicia Bult, alicia.bult@hopeandglorypr.com

Highland Park Dragon Legend (43.1% abv) is said to have a richer, smokier flavour with an abv of 43.1%. Initially, it will only be available in UK supermarkets and will sit alongside Highland Park’s 12-year-old Viking Honour. Edrington is looking to roll it out into some other key European markets in early 2018.

Highland Park brand director Jason Craig said: “Highland Park Dragon Legend is a step up in smoke profile from our core 12-year-old, having used a higher percentage of malt dried with our local Orkney woodless peat.

“This new whisky is still very much recognisable as a member of the Highland Park family with its key characteristics of vanilla and warm spices complementing the richer aromatic peat smoke.”

Dragon Legend is said to take inspiration from the stories of the vikings who ruled Highland Park’s Orkney island home for more than 600 years.